Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-09-30
again and rr,chtehln. or EN-. y

bo'suns"
81 dunno. SIR" shouted Duckworth
stolidly minding his business at the wheel
He was took bad this afternoon-in his
'ead-and said as how he card voices
callin' Of him; and some o the boys lined
in, and said rs how they card 'ern, too
a-callin' Of the bo'sun; and he turned in
, at eight bells and jammcd his cad under
the piller to shet out the voices. and
wouldn't turn ont again for no one y
Only fragments Of Duckworth's narrative
reached Mr.. Marks ear, for the din Of the
storm was terrific.
'Noices" shouted Mr.. Marks interrog
atively. What d You mean
Before Duckworth could nhift his Quid
to reply, a head and par Of shoulders
appeared above the ladder and stopped.
not daring TO ucspass on the privacy of
the bridge. The maze went over To see
what the man wanted l; was the Irish
sailor, and his jolly red round face was
vet with rain and white with fear. He
was dressed only in trousers and shirt,
and the latter was unbdttoned and Tapping
in the wind.
What do you want here'' shouted Mr.,
Marks, savagely, irritated by these irrcg-
Nuu W NItt sttc YOU
IN the foe Sic, Do You want to get your
selves reported to the car'n,"
"Av We phase, SORT" shouted the Irish
man huskily. the boys asked me to come
and tell We there's sperrits aboard, and the
bo'sun's clanc gone mad"
The mate caught the word ''sperrits, :"
ind jumped TO the conclusion that the men
had smuggled some liquor on board
| anl Irinlipp III onsalyns
Spirits he roared back. (Which Of
you has got 'eIn,''
The man shook his head. 'St's not
them srerrits, sorr, worse luck-it's
voices; and the bo'sun's clane gone mad
For the love nv heaven, Mr. Marks, come
for ard and spake u word to the boys"
Telling Duckworth TO keep sharp look
out ahesd while he was away, the mate
ran quickly down TO the deck, with Grady
at his heels. 1t needed a good pair OF Sea
legs to avoid being wrecked against the
hatchways or capsized into the scuppers.
They had almost reached the foc'sle,
when suddenly the mate felt his arm
grabbed by the Irishman, and. turning on
him, saw Grady's face ablaZe with excite
ment. Did ye hear that, sorr:" cried
the man. Its them sperrits again!
There, sorr, Just listen TO that
II Mr.. Marks hearing had been as keen
rs his sight, he might have been more I'M
pressed by the cry, wild with seeming,
agony and faint with distance which pen
etrated even the roar Of the wind and the
ceaSeless thunder Of the sea. But Mr..
Marks hearing had been damaged by par
tial drowning of the coast of Spain, and,
though he listened intently, he heard no
voices except those Of the ocean and the
air. Naturally concluding that Grady
WAS drunk, he laid hold OF the man by his
beard and shirt collar, and, shaking him
savagely, flung him down, aided by a lee
ward roll of the ship, under the wheels Of
the donkey engine. and almost toppled
after his victim himself. In no palaver-
ing mood. he went on TO the fo'c'sle and
stepped inside. 1t was very evident that
there was something wrong with the crew.
The men were huddlcd together by the
stove, some in steaming oilskins, some
only in shirts and trousers, all looking
scared and all silent. In the middle Of
the place Dredge, the bO'sun, stood, half
clothed, with a queer, wild expression on
his Gnarled face. listening hard for some
thing or other. The eyes Of the men were
all fixed on him. As Mr.. Marks stepped
In out OF the wind and rain, the bo'sun
shouted hoarsely: '.Hark. lads. He's
Callin' Of me again. Its limits BilI!''
This time the mate heard the cry, or
thought he heard il, for it was very dis
tant, and was carried away again in the
thunder Of the gale But he elbowed the
idea aside roughly: it was SO impossible
for any human being atioat on such sea
to make himself heard above the roar Of
the storm. Whats all this tomfoolery
about" he demanded of the men, angrily.
-'And what's the matter with you, bo'suu,
You ought TO be ashamed of yourself,
playing the fool in this way. Bo'sun"'
But the bo'sun heard nothing Of the
repriman1. He WAS eagerly listening for
the recui :ence OF that cry. his fists were
clcnched and the veins on his throat
stood out like cords. And when that
sound OF human agony came wailing out
Of the Storm again, his battered face lit
up with a passion OF love, and crying
aloud. Its Bill! it's Bill. I'm comm,
Lad. I'm comin',' he made a bolt for the
deck; but Mr.. Marks stopped him, and
they came down together. A couple Of
men pulled Dredge of the mate, and
helped the latter to his feet.
The mans drunk Or mad. gasped Mr.
Marks, fetching his breath heavily AFTER
the shock-Dredge had retreated up the
fo'c'sle--''mad OF drunk. How has he
come by the liquor AMI who's this Bill
he's raving about'"
Bills his on y son, sir" said one Of
the men in scared way And the lad
warnt well when We come on: O. port
end bo'sun he thinks as he hears the lad
callin' Of him for to help him or suthin'
Nor it's not all tommyrot neither, Mr.
Marks. for we've heard them voices our
selves. Haven't We. boys,''
Gay, ay," chorused the men, wlgginr
their heads; heard 'em ourselves, We
have. and more nor once"
But MS he had been absent already far
too long from his post, and as it was be-
meath his dignity TO handy arguments
with the crew, Mr.. Marks pooh poohed
the matter; and after warning them 10
keep An eye on Dredse, and not to dare t.
hear any moro chostly voices at their
peril, went aft again to the bridge.
When the second mate relieved him at
8 O'Clock he recounted briefly what had
happened, and advised Mr.. Bubble TO keep
Il sharp lookout On the fo'c'sle, and il any
further commotion occurred TO let the
capn know at once. Mr.. Bubble had
quite forgotten the incident which had oc
CURED i'll the chief mates watch, and he
WAS beginning 10 long for his bunk when
he was startled out Of his drowsy COM
placency by the sound Of wailing cry,
thin and distant and agonized, which the
wind seemed to bring 10 his ears sout OF
the storm and the night. The man at the
wheel had heard il, too, and turned a
frightened face On the mate. Lord save
u.s. exclaimed the man, its that there
voice again.
The words were hardly spoken when
the door Of the 'c'sle was flung back and
a crowd of figures swarmed out on deck.
Then the door Of the firemen's quarters
was opened, and three men came out with
lamp Seeing that something was
amiss, the mate hurried down the com
panionway TO the cabin and reused the
skipper. Capt. Lawson was on deck
promptly, and after hearing Mr.. Bubbles
huddled narrative requested him to re-
4